Political System of Great Britain

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. There are two heads in the country. One is the Queen, and the other is Parliament. Almost all the power belongs to Parliament, as the Queen is only a formal ruler of the country. In other words, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the state but Parliament has the supreme authority.

Official residence of the Queen is Buckingham Palace, in London. However, she has also some other residences in Britain.

The Queen has also a number of ministers, who bear the responsibility for her royal acts. An interesting fact is that Great Britain doesn’t have any written constitution, but has only a set of laws made by Parliament. The Constitution of Great Britain is not one document.

Much of it is not even in writing, and so the country is said to have an unwritten constitution. Some of the written parts of Britain’s Constitution come from the laws passed by Parliament. Some – from such old documents as Magna Carta, which limited the king’s power. Other written parts come from common law, a body of laws based on people’s customs and beliefs, and supported in the courts.

Parliament in GB has existed since 1265, having been organized in the reign of King Edward I. It is the oldest parliament in the world. Parliament has two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The House of Lords is the upper house of Parliament. It was once the stronger house, but today has little power. This House has no real power but has the responsibility to be an advisory council.

The House of Lords has about 1170 members. The people do not elect them. The head of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary and life peers and peeresses. Their right to sit in the House passes with their title, usually to their oldest sons.

The House of Commons is Britain’s real governing body. It has 650 members, elected by the people. Members of the House of Commons have no fixed terms. They are chosen in a general election, which must be held at least every five years. But an election may be called anytime. Almost all British citizens of 18 years old or older may vote.

The functions of the House of Commons are legislation and scrutiny of government activities. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. The Speaker is appointed by the Government.

There are also a number of important political parties in Britain, such as the Conservative Party, the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and others. Each political party has its leader, who takes part in elections. The one who wins becomes an MP (Member of Parliament). The party, which wins the most seats in Parliament, forms the Government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister. His first job is to choose his Cabinet. The Prime Minister usually takes policy decisions with the agreement of the Cabinet.

Political parties are necessary to British’s system of government. The chief political parties in Britain today are the Conservative Party and the Labor Party. The Conservative Party developed from the Tories, and has been supported by wealthy people as well as professional people and farmers. The Labor Party has been supported by skilled and unskilled workers, especially union members.

So the Prime Minister is usually the leader of the political party that has the most seats in the House of Commons. The monarch appoints the Prime Minister after each general election. The monarch asks the Prime Minister to form a Government. The Prime Minister selects about 100 ministers. From them, he picks a special group to make up the Cabinet.

The Cabinet usually consists of about 20 ministers. The ministers of the more important departments, such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Home Office, are related to every Cabinet.

Law courts of Great Britain operate under three separate legal systems – one for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland, and one for Scotland. In all three systems, the House of Lords is the highest court of appeal in civil cases. It is also the highest court of appeal in criminal cases, except in Scotland. The Queen appoints all British judges on the advice of the Government.

Task 3. Give detailed answers to the questions:

1. Who is the head of state in Great Britain?

2. What is the legislative power in Great Britain?

3. What does the British Parliament consist of?

4. How many members the House of Commons has?

5. What can you tell about the elections in the House of Lords?

6. Who forms the Government?

7. How many ministers does the Cabinet consist of?

8. What political parties in Great Britain do you know?

9. What is the highest court of appeal in civil cases?

10. Who appoints the British judges?

Task 4. Complete the sentences with the correct verb form.

1. There (to be) … two heads in the country.

2. The Queen (to have) … also a number of ministers, who (to bear) … the responsibility for her royal acts.

3. The Parliament in GB (to exist) … since 1265.

4. Almost all British citizens of 18 years old or older (may) … vote.

5. The Speaker (to appoint) … by the Government.

6. Each political party (to have) … its leader, who (to take) … part in elections.

7. Political parties (to be) … necessary to British system of government.

8. The monarch (to appoint) … the Prime Minister after each general election.

Task 5. Learn the following words and word combinations:

1.	Head of the Commonwealth	Глава Содружества
2.	Duke of York	Герцог Йоркский
3.	formerly	прежде
4.	initially	изначально
5.	prospect	перспектива
6.	succeeding	следование
7.	to abdicate	отказываться
8.	heir	наследник (ца)
9.	outbreak	внезапное начало
10.	to join	присоединяться
11.	Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service	Женская вспомогательная территориальная служба (существовала во время 2-й мировой войны)
12.	distant cousin	дальний родственник
13.	duke	герцог
14.	couple	пара
15.	immediately	незамедлительно
16.	to be crowned	быть коронованным
17.	duty	обязанность
18.	ceremonial responsibilities	церемониальные обязанности
19.	sovereign	монарх, государь
20.	foreign	зарубежный, иностранный
21.	tour	поездка, тур
22.	despite	несмотря
23.	controversy	противоречие, спор
24.	royal	королевский
25.	to remain	оставаться
26.	overseas	за рубежом
27.	Her Majesty	Ее Величество
28.	to behave	вести себя
29.	obligatory	обязательный
30.	code	закон, правило
31.	courtesy	вежливость, учтивость

Task 6. Read the text and translate it.